On November 1, Governor Greg Abbott announced his appointment of Evan Young, a former clerk to Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia, to the Supreme Court of Texas. Young will replace Justice Eva Guzman on the bench, who resigned in June.

Evan Young of Austin is a partner at the firm of Baker Botts LLP. He clerked for Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia and served as Counsel to the Attorney General at the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ). During his time at the DOJ, he spent nearly a year on detail to the U.S. Embassy in Baghdad, Iraq, where he helped lead the U.S. government’s rule of law effort. Young is a former chair of the Texas Regional Office of the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children, a member of the Supreme Court Advisory Committee, an elected member of the American Law Institute, and an adjunct professor at The University of Texas School of Law. He has served as a member of the Texas Judicial Council since 2017. Young received a Bachelor of Arts from Duke University and from Oxford University, where he was a British Marshall Scholar, and a Juris Doctor degree from Yale Law School. He is married to Tobi Young and together they have one daughter, Romilly.

On October 29, Governor Greg Abbott appointed Kendal Carrillo, Donna McKethan, and Ron Rohrbacher to the Industry-Based Certification Advisory Council for terms to be determined as set forth by law in House Bill 3938, 87R. The Industry-Based Certification Advisory Council is established to advise the commission regarding the alignment of public high school career and technology education programs with current and future workforce needs in communities, regions, and the state. More information on the appointees can be found here.